Cap ex-president costs

A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service concludes that our four former presidents cost the republic $3.7 million per year. That's not a lot of money within a $2.4 trillion federal budget. But it is a lot of money when you consider that all of the ex-presidents are millionaires, and then some.

Former President Bill Clinton's net worth reportedly is in the range of $80 million. In 2012, Mr. Clinton made more than $13.4 million delivering speeches. That comes out to $248,777 per speech, which is a good fee even if you are a great speechmaker.

Funding for ex-presidents dates back to 1958, when Congress created the Former Presidents Act. At that time, Harry Truman had become virtually destitute because he refused to join corporate boards or become a TV pitchman, feeling such things would demean the presidency.

No one then dreamed that one day, a former president would get millions for a book deal or $175,000 from the America Kuwait Foundation for a speech. Former presidents now can cash in - and do.

A partial exception is ex-President Jimmy Carter, who makes a living from books and lectures. But he seems to attract or accept smaller fees, and gives some of that money to the Carter Center, which actually does some things other than glorifying Mr. Carter.

Under the Former Presidents Act, previous inhabitants of the Oval Office get a pension of about $200,000 a year, plus $96,000 for a small office staff. Taxpayers also pick up the tab for travel, office space, and postage, and they can mount up.

Mr. Clinton's 8,300-square-foot office cost taxpayers almost $450,000 in 2012. George W. Bush spent $85,000 on telephone charges. The government spent a total of $1.3 million on Mr. Bush last year and roughly $1 million for Mr. Clinton. That's a lot of forever stamps.

None of these numbers includes the cost of Secret Service protection, which is for life, as it should be. Protecting the safety of ex-presidents is a cost the government should bear.

But a salary should not apply unless they give their speeches for free and are, in essence, still full-time public servants, as Mr. Truman and John Adams saw themselves after they left office. If ex-presidents are in business, profiting from their formerness, the public ought not to subsidize those businesses.

In 2012, a bill before Congress sensibly proposed a cap on ex-presidents' costs - a $200,000 pension, and another $200,000 that they could use at their discretion. The bill never got out of committee. Would Mr. Truman have accepted $1 million per year from a Treasury that is so deeply sunk in red ink?

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Cap ex-president costs

A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service concludes that our four former presidents cost the republic $3.7 million per year. That's not a lot of money within a $2.4 trillion